The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Most devices/accessories physically connected to a computer/server are powered by the server itself. Such devices often include a communications interface termed a “rack interface pod”, which interfaces a keyboard, video and mouse (“KVM”) appliance to a communications port, for example a Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) port, of a server. The rack interface pod enables both serial communications with the server, as well as the capability to receive video from the server. When the server is power cycled or rebooted, an attached rack interface pod will lose power for a relatively short window of time. The window of time may vary but typically is between a few seconds up to about 45 seconds.
Some types of peripherals that are designed to be powered by a connected computer/server can tolerate a loss of power for a limited window of time, such as mentioned above, without affecting usability of the device. There are, however, use cases where a peripheral that is powered by a computer/server must maintain a level of performance in order to fulfill its purpose and function, and where even a very brief loss of power is not acceptable.
One method for ensuring continuous power to a peripheral device such as a rack interface pod, where its primary power source would be a server to which it is attached, is to provide alternate power from a standard 120V AC power outlet either directly or using an AC to DC power adapter. The problem with this approach is that it utilizes a 120V AC power outlet that can be in high demand in certain applications or environments. This approach also creates a cable management problem in that power must be routed from each 120V AC power outlet to each device. This management issue can be somewhat reduced by supplying multiple devices from a single 120V AC outlet, but each device still needs an AC or DC supply to it originating from the 120V AC outlet.
Another widely used solution to the temporary power loss problem is to provide power to the device through a physical interface such as Power over Ethernet (“PoE”) or similar custom solution. The problem with this solution is that devices that implement a PoE-based solution can add a cost burden to other infrastructure if PoE capability is not already present in the data center environment. Even if PoE is present in the data center environment, there will be an added cost burden in configuring the device to support the PoE-based solution.